Repaying Debts
by carissima
Summary: Set some time around Kanes and Abels, this is a missing storyline moment that stems from Logan's offer of money to Veronica.


**My first VM fic .. I feel like a proud mother watching her baby take her first steps. If the mystery in this story sucks, I'm really sorry, but I'm not used to writing mysteries or clever things like that. I hope you enjoy my little 'missing moment' story.**

Veronica tapped her pen against the desk, staring at her computer screen. With her dad out of town chasing another bail jumper, Veronica had stolen the top file from the pile in his office. Catherine Jameson was looking for her mother, the woman who'd given her up for adoption twenty years ago and she couldn't find any trace of the woman, so she'd come to Mars Investigations, hoping they could find her. The woman had been told by the adoption services that her mother's name was Dana Keynes, and that she'd come from Neptune, California.

A quick background check had revealed nothing. The woman had no history on record. She hadn't gotten married, her credit hadn't run out, she hadn't even gotten a speeding ticket in the past twenty years. The woman must live like a saint, yet that didn't help her.

"Can Veronica come out to play?" Logan appeared at the office door, a cocky grin on his face.

"Are we friends now, Logan? Should I start re-braiding those friendship bracelets?" Veronica quipped as she looked up at him.

"Since you helped me try to find my mom, I figured I owed you something in return," Logan walked into the office and sat down on the chair facing hers.

"I told you Logan, I don't want your money," Veronica sighed, trying to forget about the lack of funds in her account.

"I'm not offering you money. I'm offering my services in whatever detective-y thing you've got going on," Logan put his feet on the desk and his hands behind his head, before grinning at her.

"I thought you were grateful for me help. You want to repay me by making my life hell for the next week?" Veronica smirked at him.

"I promise, I'll only be helpful. I won't utter a single cleverly veiled insult while I'm doing this stalking stuff with you. Then, when I've solved your little case, we'll go back to you wishing you could spend more time with me and me wishing you'd stop making up excuses to be near me," Logan grinned. "Deal?"

"What's it like in Logan's World? Do all the girls scream and faint in your presence?" Veronica sighed loudly and put her head on her hands as she fluttered her eyelashes at him.

"Girls scream and faint in my presence whatever world we're in," Logan sighed. "It's tough, but I've learned to deal with it."

"Well, just so long as you remember that you're the one making up excuses to spend time with me," Veronica shook her head and smiled to herself.

"I'd like you to appreciate that I'm going to let that slide, with no smart comeback," Logan tapped his finger on the desk to emphasise his point.

"Duly noted," Veronica rolled her eyes. "Is there any way to change your mind?"

"I don't like being in debt to you," Logan looked at her.

"Okay," Veronica said easily. She understood, since she'd hate owing Logan a favor.

"So what are we working on, Scully?" Logan quipped.

"Well, we're fresh out of alien abductions," Veronica motioned for Logan to come round the desk.

She showed him the screen. "A Miss Catherine Jameson wants to find her adoptive mother. This is mom's file, Dana Keynes. She doesn't have so much as a speeding ticket on her file in the last twenty years, which is around the time that she gave her daughter up for adoption."

"Is that normal? I mean, to have nothing on file for twenty years?" Logan questioned.

"Well, if I pulled up your file, it'd show a mile-long list of all your misdemeanours," Veronica quickly typed in Logan's name and scrolled down the page.

"What can I say, I had a misspent youth," Logan grinned.

"Okay, let's pull up Meg's file. She's about as innocent as you get in Neptune, right?" Veronica typed in Meg's name. "Yet even she has a few things on file."

"Even her file is tame. A few insurance claims on a broken leg and fractured arm? She was once burgled?" Logan pulled a face. "I don't see why Duncan's infatuated with her. I mean, even you weren't that goody-goody."

Veronica hid the pain in her eyes. "Lily was responsible for most of the trouble I got in when Duncan and I dated."

"Yeah, me too," Logan winked at her.

"Now, of course, there's no-one to blame but ourselves," Veronica sighed. Lily's death had affected all of them in some way or other, but she and Logan had both stumbled into trouble, whilst Duncan had drifted into a life of half-existence. He was no longer the boy she loved. He seemed to be afraid of feeling, whereas she and Logan were so afraid of not feeling that they went headlong into trouble.

"So what's the next move, Ms. Fletcher?" Logan turned and sat on the desk.

Veronica raised her eyebrows.

"Look, if you're not going to get my witty quips, this is going to be a really long week," Logan told her.

"I get your quips, Logan. It doesn't mean they're witty though," Veronica smirked at him. "The next move is to find something from this woman's history and see if that leads us to her."

"Brilliant!" Logan exclaimed dramatically.

Veronica looked up at him and cocked an eyebrow.

"Okay, jeez Veronica," Logan pulled a face at her. "So, what are we looking for?"

"Her last known address was in your neighbourhood. Let's see who owns the house now," Veronica typed something into the computer and she soon found a telephone number.

Picking up the receiver, Veronica dialled and tapped her pen on the notepad in front of her. Seconds later, she replaced the receiver and stared at the computer screen in bemusement.

"What?" Logan peered at the screen from behind her.

"The names on the answer machine match the names of Dana's parents …Catherine's grandparents," Veronica said slowly.

"Great, mystery solved, the universe can realign itself with you on this side," Logan indicated, "And me on this side."

Veronica tipped her head and looked at him.

"Yeah okay. Let's go, Batman," Logan grabbed his bag and walked towards the door.

"Go where?" Veronica watched him stop and turn around.

"To the grandparents' house. We'll do whatever cute thing it is that you do, and then we'll reunite mother and daughter, and all will be right with the world," Logan shrugged.

"Logan," Veronica said gently as she picked up her bag and walked towards him. "If it's too hard to work on this case, there are others."

"Is it hard for you?" Logan looked at her, his eyes questioning.

"It gets easier," she said softly as she put her hand on his arm and looked up at him.

"At least your mom didn't abandon you forever though," Logan half-smiled.

"You think it's easier to know that my mom could come back but chooses not to?" Veronica laughed humorlessly.

"I guess we both lucked out in the mom department," Logan lifted his hand and captured a strand of her blonde hair in his fingers. He curled it around a finger before watching it drop.

Veronica caught his hand. "Logan, if this is too hard, you don't have to come with me. I won't ever make you feel like you're indebted to me."

"Anything you can do, Veronica Mars, I can do better, right?" Logan softened his arrogant statement with a little smile.

"Let's go," Veronica rolled her eyes as she dragged him out of the office. "We're taking your car."

"You want a decent ride for once?" Logan climbed into his SUV.

"Or your flashy waste of money fits into the 09-er neighbourhood mentality better than my car," Veronica retorted.

"What's the address?" Logan pulled away and headed for the most expensive part of town.

Veronica told him.

"That's two houses down from me," Logan frowned.

"That had occurred to me," Veronica sighed. "Do you know anything about Mr and Mrs Keynes?"

"Not really. They used to give me cookies when I was young. That's about it," Logan shrugged.

"Until you grew up to be a holy terror?" Veronica smirked.

"Like you're one to talk," Logan chuckled.

"At least the line I walk between legal and illegal is blurred, unlike yours. And I'm much better at not getting caught," she pointed out.

"Now, where would my reputation be if I didn't get caught for the things that I do? And some of the things that I don't do," Logan swerved quickly around a corner. "I still haven't forgotten that you set me up with that lovely statue in my locker."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Veronica grinned.

"Sure you don't," Logan deadpanned as he pulled into his drive.

"For the next ten minutes or so, you're going to have to pretend to be sensitive and caring. Do you think you can manage it?" Veronica asked, semi-seriously.

"With you to guide me, oh wise Veronica, I'm sure I can do anything," Logan sighed as he slammed the car door shut. "What's the plan?"

"We're going to be concerned neighbours. Some of your friends have been burgled and you've seen some suspicious guys hanging around your street. You're just checking up on the dear old couple who used to give you cookies. Okay?" Veronica tied her hair up into a ponytail and pulled a pair of glasses out of her bag and put them on. Moving to stand in front of Logan, she tilted her head.

"Take the jacket off. And try smiling," she ordered.

Logan slipped the jacket off and scowled at her.

"I'm just trying to make you look more … friendly and less … I-don't-care-about-anyone-but-me-ish," Veronica shrugged.

"Let's go," Logan growled as he strode towards the couple's house.

"Great job on the friendlier thing," Veronica laughed as she ran after him.

She caught up with him as he was knocking on their door. Slipping her arm through his, she fixed a welcoming smile on her face and squeezed Logan's arm until he gritted his teeth and smiled too.

The door opened to reveal a small, grey-haired woman whose nervous expression turned into a smile as she looked up at Logan.

"Logan! We haven't seen you in years!" the lady beamed up at him.

"I'm sorry it's been so long, Mrs Keynes," Logan bent down and brushed a kiss across the woman's cheek, much to Veronica's surprise. "I just wanted to come and see how you and Mr Keynes are."

"Oh come in, please come in! Mr Keynes will be so happy to see you!" Mrs Keynes opened the door wider and ushered them in.

She led them into the den, where an old man sat, reading the newspaper. When he looked up to see Logan, a smile as wide as his wife's crossed his lips.

"Logan! What a pleasant surprise!" the old man tried to stand up.

Logan moved quickly around the table and put a steadying hand on his shoulder. "Don't get up, please," Logan told him quietly.

"Have a seat," Mrs Keynes told Veronica with a smile.

Veronica, bemused from everything that had happened in the last five minutes, sat without a word. She stared at Logan, as if he'd morphed into someone she didn't recognise.

"Would you like a cookie?" Mrs Keynes asked Veronica.

"I'd love one, thanks Mrs Keynes. Logan's told me all about your cookies. I've been dying to try one since he first mentioned them," Veronica smiled at her.

"Oh, Logan!" Mrs Keynes giggled like a young girl. "So are the two of you …?"

"This is Veronica," Logan introduced her to the couple, deliberately omitting to mention their exact relationship.

"It's lovely to meet you," Mr Keynes told Veronica, who smiled at the older man.

"So, what brings you youngsters round here?" Mrs Keynes appeared and popped a plate of cookies on the table and watched with delight as Veronica and Logan both went to snatch a cookie and ended up grinning at each other as they fought over the plate.

"There've been a few burglaries in the area over the last few weeks," Logan lied effortlessly as he eyed the last cookie on the plate. "Mom saw some guys she didn't recognise hanging around our street last week, and I saw them again yesterday. She asked me to warn all the neighbours to keep their doors and windows locked."

"That's awful," Mr Keynes shook his head. "It's a dreadful shame that folks aren't safe in their own houses anymore."

"I know," Logan agreed as he glared at Veronica, who was smugly finishing off the last cookie.

"We'll be sure to keep everything locked," Mrs Keynes wrung her hands nervously as she stood beside her husband's chair.

"You have a lovely house, Mrs Keynes," Veronica said as she looked around the room. "It'd be awful if something was stolen from here."

"Oh, we don't care much for material things," Mrs Keynes said with a sad smile. "All we really care about are the personal things."

"My father always says that the worst thing someone could take from him, besides his family, is his memories," Veronica murmured.

"He's a wise man," Mr Keynes nodded with a smile as he looked towards a group of framed photographs that rested on the mantelpiece.

"Are those photographs of your family?" Veronica asked, and smiled as Mrs Keynes nodded. "Do you mind if I take a look?"

"Not at all, my dear," Mrs Keynes smiled. "She's a nice one, Logan," she whispered loudly at Logan, who chuckled.

"She's unique, Mrs Keynes," Logan agreed with a smirk.

"He's politely telling you that I'm difficult and not always so nice," Veronica winked at Mrs Keynes, who giggled.

"You make a lovely couple," Mrs Keynes replied. "I could see the sparks between you when I first opened the door to you."

Veronica smiled politely before turning back to the photographs. Mrs Keynes seemed to fancy herself as having a bit of Cupid inside her, she thought as she studied the photographs.

"Is this you?" Veronica grinned as she picked up a framed photograph of the Keynes' at a younger age, kissing on a beach.

"Many moons ago," Mr Keynes chuckled.

"And is this your daughter?" Veronica said easily as she picked up a different photograph with a picture of a teenage girl laughing as she pointed to something off-camera.

"That's our Dana," Mr Keynes said tremulously.

"She's beautiful," Veronica said before replacing the frame. "Mrs Keynes, would you mind showing me the rest of the house? It's just so beautiful. You must have taken a lot of time and care to decorate the house."

"I'd love to, Veronica," Mrs Keynes' voice almost tinkled with joy. "You'll have to excuse me though dear, I'm not as fast as I used to be."

"That's okay, isn't it Logan? You can stay here and chat to Mr Keynes about the good old days," Veronica winked at Mr Keynes before bending down to kiss Logan's cheek. "See what you can find out," she whispered in his ear.

"You take your time, babe," Logan shook his head slightly as he smiled, impressed with her acting ability.

"Don't miss me too much!" Veronica simpered as her eyes twinkled.

"I'll try not to!" Logan answered, barely smothering his laugh.

"Young love," Mrs Keynes smiled at her husband before leading Veronica upstairs.

"I didn't know you had a daughter," Logan looked up at the photograph that Veronica had picked up earlier.

"She was the light of our life. We only had the one child, but we gave her all our love," Mr Keynes sighed.

"She must have been blessed to have such devoted parents," Logan couldn't keep the bitterness from his voice.

"Your mother loved you very much, Logan," Mr Keynes surprised Logan by saying. "She wouldn't have left unless she felt she had no other choice."

"There's always a choice," Logan kept his eyes on the photograph.

"But people aren't always aware of the choices they have," the older man sighed heavily. "If they were, Dana might still be here."

Logan looked up at Mr Keynes, but didn't say anything.

"It's not surprising that you didn't know about Dana, Logan. She left us over twenty years ago, and it's too painful for my wife to talk about," Mr Keynes sighed. "She just upped and left us one day, and we never found out why. We hired so many detectives to try and find her, but they couldn't find a single trace. After a few years, we just gave up trying."

"I had no idea," Logan said quietly. The Keynes' didn't appear to know that they had a grand-daughter … He moved the conversation onto other, less painful subjects.

Half an hour later, Logan and Veronica were saying goodbye to the couple, with a basket of cookies in Veronica's hands.

"Either acting runs in your family, and judging by Trina's latest appearance on CSI, it doesn't, or you've been holding out on me," Veronica climbed into Logan's car.

"Once upon a time, _we_ were friends," Logan reminded her. "People change."

"They certainly do," Veronica murmured.

"So did you find out anything?" Logan asked as he pulled away.

"Not really. I didn't want to upset her," Veronica sighed.

"Well, I learned something. Apparently, Dana disappeared twenty years ago, and the Keynes' don't know about her child. They hired some private detectives but they couldn't come up with anything," Logan told her.

"They couldn't have been good detectives if they didn't pick up the adoption trail," Veronica frowned.

"Are you going to tell Catherine that she has grand-parents?" Logan asked.

"Not yet. I want to see if I can find Dana first," Veronica stared out of the window. "Dana was still in school when she disappeared. She wasn't living at home, but she was still in Neptune until the baby was born."

"So the father was probably from Neptune as well," Logan said.

Veronica turned and looked at Logan.

"What?" he frowned as he noticed her staring at him.

"That's brilliant, Logan," Veronica grinned at him.

"Really?" Logan glanced over at her.

"Now, who do we know that would have been at Neptune twenty years ago?" Veronica frowned. "Lamb!"

"_Sheriff_ Lamb? The Wizard? The guy who hates us both?" Logan stared at her.

"The one and only," Veronica grinned.

"And how do you propose to ask Lamb if he remembers a girl called Dana and if he does, would he mind telling you who she was dating before she disappeared?" Logan scoffed.

"Easy. I'll put a bug in his office, then I'll plant a newspaper in his office, with an article about a twenty year reunion at Neptune High. I'll scan in a photograph of Dana, and I'll send Leo in to ask him about her," Veronica said matter-of-factly.

"You're scary, you know that?" Logan told her.

"I do," Veronica grinned as she hopped out of Logan's car. "By tomorrow afternoon, we'll know who Dana was dating before she disappeared."

**NEXT DAY**

"So?" Logan strolled into Mars Investigations and found Veronica in pretty much the same position he'd found her in the day before.

"His name was James Crown. He was a student at Neptune, until he disappeared," Veronica muttered as she stared at the computer screen.

"Did he possibly disappear about, oh, twenty years ago?" Logan flung his hands out and paused, waiting.

"You got it," Veronica confirmed. "Except he has a few things on his file."

"Where?" Logan dropped his bag on the floor and moved behind her to look at the screen.

"Neptune, California," Veronica shook her head.

"They're in town?" Logan asked incredulously.

"It seems so. They went to Texas and Florida where he picked up rental cars, and then years ago, he starts to get a few things in Neptune. If they're still together, then they live a couple of blocks away," Veronica shrugged.

"And it's that easy?" Logan asked, bemused.

"Sometimes," Veronica looked up at him and smiled.

"Are you going to tell the girl, or check out them out first?" Logan questioned.

"I was going to go over there now," Veronica told him.

"Let's go," Logan spun her chair around and pulled her up.

"I can handle it from here, Logan," Veronica said softly.

"I'm sure you can. Let's go," Logan grabbed her arm and pulled her along with him.

"This requires some sensitivity, Logan," Veronica told him as they walked towards the address Veronica had memorised.

"I can be sensitive," Logan exclaimed.

Veronica coughed loudly.

"I can," Logan grumbled.

"Let me do the talking, okay?" Veronica elbowed him as they walked up the steps towards the apartment.

She knocked on the door. A middle-aged man opened the door.

"Can I help you?" he asked with a smile.

"Mr Crown?" Veronica asked. The man nodded. "I'm with Mars Investigations. We were contacted by a Miss Catherine Jameson to find her birth mother."

The man looked at the two strangers on his doorstep. "Come in," he offered.

They settled themselves in the den, Logan and Veronica sitting side by side, facing James Crown.

"The search for Miss Jameson's mother led us here," Veronica said gently.

"I'm afraid you won't be able to find her," James sighed. "She died, nineteen years ago."

Veronica looked at Logan, who closed his eyes.

"She got pregnant whilst we were still in school. She thought her parents would never be able to live with the shame of their daughter being pregnant without being married, so she convinced me to run away with her. We went across country for six months, until the baby was born. She was so beautiful, just like her mother," James smiled sadly.

"And then what happened?" Logan asked quietly as he reached over for Veronica's hand and grasped it tightly.

"She slipped into a coma after the baby was born. She came back out of it, but scans showed that she had a tumor. There was no way that I could bring up the baby by myself. I had no money, no home, nothing. My parents weren't rich, and Dana didn't think that her parents would take the baby in. So we drove back to Neptune and offered the baby up for adoption," James sighed.

"Why Neptune?" Veronica asked.

"Because its home. Without Dana, I had no reason to be anywhere else," James sighed.

"Would you like to meet your daughter?" Veronica leaned forward, her hand still in Logan's tight grip.

James was silent for a moment. Then, with tears in his eyes, he nodded slowly.

"I'll arrange for the two of you to have lunch tomorrow," Veronica said gently. "And, if it's alright with you, I think I know two grandparents who would very much like to meet her too."

James nodded, a tremulous smile on his face. "Thank you," he whispered.

"It's no problem," Veronica told him as she stood up and tugged on Logan's arm for him to do the same.

"I'll call you when I know the details, Mr Crown," Veronica told the man as they left the apartment.

"Thank you," he repeated as Logan and Veronica headed towards the street.

Neither of them said a word as they walked back to the office. Logan was still holding her hand, but she said nothing. She wasn't sure he was even aware she was there. She should never have let him help, not on this case.

They walked into the office and Logan paused, Veronica at his side.

"Logan …" Veronica began.

He turned to look at her, his expression blank. "Veronica …"

"We're even now, right?" Veronica asked softly.

"Yeah, we're even," Logan murmured.

"Logan … my hand?" Veronica said gently.

Logan looked down and saw he was still holding onto her hand. He released hers carefully before bringing his eyes back up to hers.

He captured a strand of her hair in his fingers again. Curling it around his finger, he brought his other hand up and gently rubbed her arm.

"I guess we're the lucky ones, really. For all their faults, at least we knew our moms. My mom wasn't perfect, she was far from it. But she was still there on my first day at school, and for my birthdays and holidays. That's something, right?" he asked as he stared down at her.

"That's everything, Logan. No matter what, she'll always be your mom," Veronica whispered.

"Your mom will find her way back, Veronica," Logan told her as he dropped her strand of hair. "When someone loves you, they always come back."

Logan took one last look at her, before walking towards the door. "Don't try and sit with me at the cool table tomorrow," he called as he walked through the door.

"So I won't save you a seat for lunch?" Veronica called with a smile before she headed for her desk.


End file.
